Fiction Into Reality
by Lyrander
Summary: Tony had always thought the main characters in his favourite movies had done almost everything right. They saved the day and got the girl. Now it was time to act out his own plot. Whether it would end up a 2 hour screening or an 8 hour cinematic experience all depended on his ability to convince Ziva they were the one true pairing.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don**'**t own NCIS or any of its associated characters or intellectual properties. Otherwise Tony and Ziva would have done the horizontal mambo a long loong time ago.**_

* * *

_"I'm tired of pretending,"_ echoed in his head. God, that felt like a lifetime ago. Still until this day, he was not entirely sure what she meant by that heavy statement even though he had agreed. Pretending was what they did. It was the essence of their whole relationship. Pretending to feel indifferent about each other, even though their eyes were on fire. Pretending to act aloof when one of them had plans for the night. Makes one wonder if they would ever get to a point where they didn't try to cover up their thoughts with metaphors and brilliantly witty jokes on his part, of course.

But he had reached his limit. He was officially exhausted. His whole being throbbed from all the half-truths and cover-ups. At least where he was concerned.

He had no idea where all this courage came from but it was time to be the main hero and grab the girl. But first, he had to find a way to go around the first plot twist which appeared to be in the shape of a silver-haired older man with a mean head slap. Never underestimate the surprise element in a seemingly light punch.

Gibbs was...Gibbs. He had been the father figure he had always wanted and needed even if his sense of affection was a little warped. But Gibbs was always there when Tony needed him which is why he found himself in Gibbs' basement where all the after hours therapy always seemed to take place.

He had been sitting in the dark for God knows how long when someone switched on the light that illuminated the room only slightly. Gibbs didn't seem to be phased by Tony's presence and moved calmly towards his newest project which was covered under a large tarp.

Tony opened his mouth, but nothing came out as the reality set in. He shouldn't have come here. His earlier resolution had vanished and he decided this was a bad idea. He moved to leave, but his feet had stopped on their own accord as if his body knew his mind needed the answers his heart was looking for.

"Out with it, DiNozzo." Gibbs' firm voice stated.

"Out with what?" Tony questioned.

"Whatever you came here for."

Tony swallowed tightly and started stuttering, not managing to find an acceptable way to express himself, which in itself was an astounding feat, considering the sheer amount of words that oh-so-easily came out of his mouth daily. The only other person that had ever made him feel so utterly nervous was Ziva and she was the reason he was in this mess in the first place.

"I…I…you see, Boss, heh…I kinda needed to ask you something." he stammered.

"I'm waiting." Gibbs replied as he watched his chatterbox Senior Agent tripping over his tongue.

"Well, I wanted to ask you what you would advise me to do if I met my…my Shannon." he asked him quietly.

Tony saw Gibbs tense at his heavily loaded question and eye him curiously before stating in a firm voice, "I would tell you to do your best to hold on to her." And went back to his woodwork. Ah Gibbs. Trust him to be the ever conversationalist.

The older man slowly stopped working and carefully enquired, "DiNozzo."

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony stopped fiddling around with a rope he managed to get his hands on.

"Mind telling me who the lucky lady is?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes at him.

Tony felt his throat closing in on him like some invisible creature was choking him, trying to help him pass out before he could dig himself into a deeper grave.

"Well?" he heard Gibbs' faint voice coming through the haze he was in.

It was either now or never and the prospect of never terrified him to his very core. It was time to step up and be the person the motivational speakers seemed to have such a high opinion of. He took a deep breath and uttered the name of the person who meant the world to him, "Ziva."

Tony saw Gibbs' head slump and shaking slightly. "Ah geez, Dinozzo. Has everything we have seen in our line of work taught you nothing? I don't have rule 12 in place just to crank up the unresolved sexual tension, you know."

"Well it has made the work life more fun." Tony tried jokingly but his boss would have none of it.

"You do realize this changes things. You gotta be aware of the fact I'm not gonna approve of it."

And with that, Tony felt all his hopes and dreams crashing down even though he hadn't even confronted Ziva about their amazingly twisted relationship that has had him tossing and turning in his bed longer than he would like to admit. He didn't expect Gibbs to support his potential relationship with Ziva but he would have liked for Gibbs to at least understand the simple fact that Ziva was it for him.

As covert as Tony had tried to be with his feelings towards Ziva, he had always thought that Gibbs knew the whole time. The man had Sherlockian observation skills borderlining on psychic, for Pete's sake, and Tony had always been outrageously bad at hiding whatever feelings he had had for Ziva in the 8 years he had known her.

Gradually, Tony was brought out of his reverie by Gibbs' subtle coughing. "I don't approve of it, Tony. But I'm pretty sure that my approval does not change your feelings towards Ziva. Therefore, I will try to simply accept it even though I think it is a recipe for disaster." Gibbs sternly said.

"With our track record, I don't blame you. But I will do everything in my power to make us work if she'll have me. And I needed to let you know before I did anything further so that you wouldn't find us occupying your makeshift office one day." Tony was ready to head slap himself after his last revelation to Gibbs but it was true nonetheless. In his potentially delusional, but hopeful opinion, their raw magnetism was enough to power a small village for a week.

"DiNozzo, I told you I will accept it, not that I will turn a blind eye when you two start fooling around. Keep it out of the office." Gibbs firmly stated.

"Right, yes, thank you, Boss." Tony mumbled and started moving out of the basement.

* * *

Tony took a deep breath of relief and suddenly realized that all his thought and effort had gone to figuring out how to tell Gibbs, but he hadn't thought how he would face the ninja. What if she kimbo-sliced him to pieces? What if she laughed at him? What if he had totally imagined their recent try at intimacy?

Tony felt his stomach drop to the floor. Maybe his obsession with films had transpired him to over-romanticize his relationship with Ziva. In the fictional world, the two seemingly opposite characters always seem to have a connection that may be translated into a budding relationship. However, he knew his feelings for her are real. He might have been attracted to her mysterious aura at first, but then he realized what a caring and vulnerable soul lies beneath.

But what if he thought that Ziva reciprocated his feelings because that was what he wanted to believe? It would have made a great movie. An exotic kick-ass Mossad ninja falling for the debonaire federal agent with the heart of a lion. Perhaps he was simply trying to live out the idealistic vision movies had instilled in him from a young age.

Tony took in the realization that had suddenly hit him. He might have jumped the gun with telling Gibbs about his feelings as he had no idea if Ziva even felt an inkling of what he felt for her. She had always been so damn good at hiding her feelings. Except her eyes. It sounded cliché but her eyes had always been a window to her soul. Only, sometimes he had a feeling she didn't want anyone to see into hers.

But he couldn't help it. He had seen what a beautiful soul she has and he felt his entire body ache for her. She seemed to think she didn't deserve anything good in her life because she had inflicted too much pain on people which was a completely ridiculous notion in his opinion. She was the one who had endured too much pain through the hands of others. And he couldn't stand for her to suffer any more pain which is why he would make it his mission to a loyal constant in her life. Lovers or not. But preferably the former. He just hoped his observation skills were as accurate as Gibbs'.

Somehow, in all his introspective reflection, Tony found himself outside of his apartment door, so tired from all the wheels turning in his head at full speed. Crashing into his bed, his last thoughts before he was grabbed by the clutches of sleep, revolved around the conundrum love had gotten him into. He told Gibbs, now all he has to do is tell Ziva.

Easy, right?

* * *

**Hello, my fellow shippers!**

**This is kinda my first try at writing anything (except for the one time I wrote a fairy tale about a teddy-bear's first day at school when I was 12). So, I would appreciate it if you told me what you thought of it. I have a couple more chapters written, so let me know if anyone would actually like to read more :)**

**Aanyway, toodles.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Still haven't managed to grab ownership of NCIS or any of its characters by the second chapter.**_

* * *

Nope. Definitely not easy.

It had been a couple of days after his big decision to tell Ziva, but he still wasn't any closer to figuring out how to best approach the difficult topic of 'us' with her. In all honesty, he hadn't thought for a second that he could just start that conversation with her out of the blue, knowing full well they called themselves 'romantically dysfunctional' for a reason.

Hence, he figured he would go with the flow and improvised when the time came. He was the wild card after all.

He realized he had been staring at his computer screen for far too long, courtesy of the infuriatingly mesmerizing Israeli sitting across from him.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked of him, tapping away furiously at the keyboard.

Good question.

'I'm in love with you.'

'I want to spend my every waking minute next to you.'

'I'd like to push you against the nearest wall and kiss you senseless,' he wondered dreamily but figured none of those answers would fly too well with her at this specific moment. Not to mention they sounded an awful lot like what a stalker would say.

So, he settled with something a little less intense. "Oh nothing, Curious George."

"Who's George?" Ziva frowned.

Tony rolled his eyes and ignored her. "I was just wondering if my avid interest in cinematic masterpieces has perhaps made me the perfect person to create the next blockbuster."

Ziva let out a snort and chuckled, "What? You? Make a movie? And pray tell, what would this great work of art of yours be about then? A ruggedly handsome spy trying to save the world from yet another disaster? Not very original, I have to say."

Tony quirked an eyebrow and scoffed. "Come on, Ziva. Give me more credit than that. Even though there is nothing wrong with a good old spy movie. They keep on making Bond movies and those seem to be doing just fine at the box office."

"That is because people do not know any better, Tony." Ziva coolly remarked.

"Hey now, Ms. David. There is no need to knock Bond movies, okay? Have you even ever seen one?" Tony incredulously asked.

"No. Never felt the need to." she calmly replied.

Tony's eyes widened at her admission and he unintentionally shouted, "Never felt the-Ziva!"

"What?" she looked over at him with her impossibly big brown eyes.

"You do realize we need to remedy your little lapse in judgment right?" he simply stated.

"Why?"

He looked at her wistfully and leaned back in his chair. "Why? You ask, oh young Padawan. Because you are now an American citizen. Heck, you are a world citizen. And my conscience will _not_ allow you to live in ignorance any longer."

Ziva rolled her eyes and went back to typing. "Are you not being a bit melodramatic? I mean it is just a movie."

Tony started shaking his head and replied, "Ziva, Ziva, Ziva. Oh my furry little Israeli. You have so much to learn" he sighed dramatically, deciding to ignore the affectionate pet name that had slipped out of his mouth without his permission."But not to worry! That is why you have me to teach you all about the wonders of the world" he continued cheerfully.

Ziva chuckled lightly and smiled at him. "Is that what your movie is going to be about? Saving the damsel in distress one movie at a time?"

"Are you calling yourself a damsel in distress, Ziva David?" he grinned at her brightly, never having heard her refer to herself as someone who needed any kind of help. Except the one time he had to go fix the plumbing in her apartment. Apparently pipes weren't her 'thing'.

Ziva stood up and was on her way to the elevator before she smiled at him with a thoughtful look in her eyes and said, "Depends on who is doing the saving" and walked away, leaving Tony gaping after her.

* * *

"So will you come to my place tomorrow to educate yourself a bit?" Tony asked in a hopeful tone.

Ziva smirked. "Well, what do I get out of it?"

Tony walked over to her desk, holding his arms open to drive the point home. "Isn't the whole request self-explanatory? One of the best movie experiences of your life with terrifyingly good company accompanied by pizza and wine. What more could you possibly want woman?"

Ziva leaned back in her chair and narrowed her eyes. "To be at home, reading a book and taking a long bubble bath instead?"

"Well I can help you with the bubble bath." Tony grinned.

He thought he saw Ziva blush for a second before she stood up and turned her back on him to start gathering her things. "Tony. I will not be feeding your mind with any more images of me prancing around your apartment half-naked."

An image of a wet-haired Ziva in a towel meandering around his apartment as if it were their own, flashed before his eyes, momentarily taking his breath away before putting back on his game face. "Hey, it was worth a try." he smirked and took a deep breath. "But seriously. Will you come watch a Bond movie with me?"

"You have yet to give me an acceptable sales pitch." Ziva eyed him curiously. "But why is this so important for you Tony?"

Tony started shuffling his feet anxiously. "Well I mean, heh, I just don't want you to miss out on something so great just because you didn't want to come out of your usual comfort zone." He coughed nervously and added when he saw Ziva's eyes go wide, "I mean, the movie is amazing. Of course there are so many Bond movies to choose from. Mind you, not all of them are as great as some, but nevertheless it isn't slim pickens when it comes to Bond" he rambled quickly, not daring to look at her.

He sensed Ziva standing next to him and decided to glance at her. Her gaze was soft and he felt her eyes piercing through him when he heard her quietly murmur, "Okay."

He couldn't believe his ears. "Okay?" he asked her in surprise.

She nodded slightly. "Okay." And started walking towards the elevator.

Tony felt as if he was in some kind of a haze when her voice echoed across the office. "But it better be the best damn pizza I have ever eaten!"

Tony laughed and yelled, "You got it, sweetcheeks."

* * *

He felt lighter than he had for years and all because the woman he loved was willing to watch a movie with him. God, he was turning into such a cheeseball.

He wondered if his and Ziva's story would end like one of those chick-flicks where the guy made that grand gesture and the girl would fall into his arms and declared their undying love for each other.

Yeah. Fat chance of that happening.

In all honesty, their whole relationship right now seemed to be heading towards the scene in the second installment of _Madagascar_, where the plane was falling out of the sky and Melman blurted out, "I love you, Gloria! I always have!" and she's asleep. He could totally see that happening with him and Ziva. They have always had the worst timing.

However, in his opinion, he believed their moment, if they ever got to it, would end up like Leia and Han in _The Empire Strikes Back_ with an exclamation of "I love you" and "I know".

Well, now that he thought of it, he probably would have to make some more effort because Ziva would never simply accept his love as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe if she opened her eyes and took off the self-deprecating goggles, she would be able to see how inconceivably deep he was with her.

And that is why he needed to make himself as clear as he could once and for all.

* * *

**Okay my lovelies, that was the second chapter. Obviously.**

**But thank you so much for all of your feedback and follows. They seriously make my day, so I really appreciate it :)**

**So, I hope you continue liking it!**

**Also, I will upload the next one in a couple of days. **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: Not **_**not _mine. Not _not _mine._**

* * *

Now what?

It was an hour before the movie night started and Tony had gradually started to freak out. In his favourite movies, the main characters always stepped up to the plate and made a big speech to their beloved leading ladies before riding off to the sunset together. But he didn't think that was his and Ziva's style. Although, he was pretty sure he would have to make a speech.

Like he had thought numerous times before, they were more of an announce-their-true-feelings-for-each-other-second s-before-the-elevator-blows-up kind of people. But he didn't want that to become their reality. He desired to change the course they were on currently or at least speed it up to the long-awaited resolution.

And that is why he found himself pacing around his living room, waiting for Ziva to arrive.

He was about to go change his shirt for the third time this evening, when he heard a gentle knock.

"Ziva." he beamed at her brightly.

"Hello, Tony." she smiled at him.

"Come on in." he moved to let her in, taking in her nervous posture. Did she sense what he was trying to talk to her about? "Are you alright?" he carefully asked. "Yes, yes. I am just a bit wound up from the week. Not easy to see 3 people get killed within the span of 3 days." she sighed.

He looked at her sadly and wondered how anyone could ever have regarded her as a heartless machine. "I know what you mean. But we will get him. Soon. Serial killers are caught one way or the other." he reassured her.

Ziva nodded slowly and plopped down on his couch. "Anyway, so are you going to show me this scintillating Bond movie then?" she asked.

Tony cheered up and went to the kitchen to get wine glasses. Better to have some liquid courage in him before he jumped off the metaphorical building. "Yes! You won't regret it. The pizza is on its way and you will get your wine right now." He sat down next to her and poured her a glass.

Ziva had curled up on the couch and Tony was careful to leave some space between them in case she was uncomfortable with his invasion of personal space.

"You know, I have high expectations of this pizza." She grinned.

"I am well aware." He swallowed tightly. "You have no idea." He muttered to himself.

* * *

They had been watching the movie for an hour and Tony felt that most of his time went to glancing at Ziva every chance he got, trying to gauge her current state of mind.

"Tony, you are staring." Ziva said without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Huh what? No, I'm just…making sure you haven't fallen asleep." he twiddled with his fingers anxiously. He saw Ziva eye him suspiciously and take a deep breath before taking the remote and putting the movie on pause.

"Seriously, Tony. What is wrong with you tonight? You have been acting like a basketbox the whole evening." she said in frustration.

"Basketcase" he corrected her automatically.

"Whatever." she was getting agitated. "You are not acting like yourself and it is irritating. Speak your mind and be over with it." she stated firmly.

Tony chuckled at her ability to see through him so easily even if he had not disguised his anxiety all that well in the first place.

He stood up and started pacing in front of her. Okay, time to face the music.

"Well, see the thing is, that I've found myself in a hypothetical pickle." Tony took a breath and waited further encouragement from the scowling, sexy, woman sitting on his couch, which to his relief, was granted.

"Hypothetical? So this is not a specific...pickle?" she asked in puzzlement. Tony scratched his head in frustration over his choice of words for a person who even got confused by double negatives.

"Oh yes. _Completely _hypothetical." Tony looked to the ground nervously, hoping that she wouldn't see the blatant lie in his eyes. But let's face it, there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell Ziva was as unattentive as to not simply hear the lie in his shaky voice. However, it was easier to keep up the charade in case everything went to hell and he needed a way to save himself from the self-inflicted disaster and keep some semblance of a friendship between them.

Ziva just sat there, watching him with expectant eyes.

"Okay, well. Let's say that theoretically I really _really _care about someone and theoretically, even though it sounds moronically cheesy and unoriginal, that someone is the part that has been missing from me all this time. And just for fun, let's say that, all in theory of course, she may be the person I've been looking for my entire life and that, hypothetically, I might be in love with her. In a speculative manner, let's also add the fact that she might be you." Tony saw her eyes fly wide open. "Do you think that…that you would supposedly and in the most theoretical sense feel the same?" Tony rambled, feeling himself shaking from all the excess adrenaline that was coursing through his veins.

Ziva just stared at him blankly, showing no emotions. Tony felt himself wanting to sneak into the into the deepest darkest abyss his bedroom contained and crawl under the biggest pile of blankets he could find, never to be discovered.

Okay, maybe he was being a bit melodramatic.

Before he could fulfil his current innermost desire, he heard Ziva shuffle in front of him and lightly place her hand on his chest. "I would say that theoretically loving me is a mistake." She quietly murmured.

Tony felt his heart tighten and put both of his hands on her shoulders. "Loving you will never be a mistake, Ziva." He could see she wanted to protest, but he softly silenced her before she had a chance. "Even if that were true, it is my favourite mistake and I would do it over and over again." He gazed at her lovingly, trying to channel his adoration for her through their most favourite means of communication.

"How could you think that? Look at what I have put you through over the years. Look at how different we are!" she cried out in exasperation.

"Now now Ms. David. You can't take all the credit for everything that has happened between us." he attempted to explain to her before continuing. "Besides, all that stuff is what has made us 'us'. Sure, some moments have hurt more than others," he winced, remembering Rivkin, Somalia and the numbness during those God-awful months that made him realize you never really lived until you found someone worth dying for. "But we have always found a way back to each other, Ziva." He truly believed that they were meant to be, as corny as it sounded. "I am like Indiana Jones. I will always find my Holy Grail." he tried jokingly.

Ziva's lips curved up a bit but still didn't say anything. Tony continued, "But I think we have missed the biggest point of all here. And thus I will refer back to my original question. How do _you _feel?" He tried his hardest not to act as if her next words were the most important words he had ever heard in his life.

Ziva stared at the ground for what seemed to Tony like hours, before she swallowed tightly and spoke. "I feel conflicted." Tony opened his mouth, but Ziva cut him off before he could say anything. "Just let me finish." He nodded slowly.

"I have made mistakes in my life. I have let people take advantage of me and in turn, the people I care about the most have suffered." She took a deep breath and continued, "You are the one person I have never wanted to suffer. And I believe that if something were to…happen between us, you would be once again, the person who would have to deal the unpleasant consequences that one faces when involved with me." She looked to the floor again, but straightened her back and whispered quietly, "That is why it does not matter what I feel for you. Because eventually it will just be too much and the desire to live a simpler life will outweigh whatever feelings you might have for me."

Tony gently nudged her chin upwards with his fingers and softly said, "Ziva. There is one dead certain fact you need to understand. I will love you forever no matter what."

Ziva smiled at him sadly and softly patted his chest. "Just warn me when forever starts to end." And extracted herself from his arms and moved to the kitchen to do the dishes.

Tony watched her go and scratched his head. This was proving to be harder than he thought.

Oh who was he kidding. It was Ziva. This was exactly as hard as he imagined it to be. But he was in too deep to turn back now and she was worth someone putting up the fight of his life for her.

Tony sauntered to the kitchen and leaned on the counter behind her. "Ziva. Look at me." Her hands froze and her head slumped a little but eventually she turned around to face him.

"Answer me this _one_ simple question." He begged.

Ziva looked at him like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and she was too tired to hide it from him anymore.

"Ignoring all the bizarre 'obstacles'," using air-quotes on purpose and continued, "your pretty little head has come up with, do you love me? Heck, not even love. Do you feel _anything _for me that surpasses the feelings of a friend?" he looked at her intently. He knew it would take her some time to get to the pour-her-heart-out stage he was currently in.

Ziva closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Yes." She whispered softly.

Tony let out a breath of relief and chuckled ever so lightly. "Okay then." He smiled at her and moved to put his hands around her waist. "Then we will figure it out. Together."

"Tony, I-" Ziva protested, but Tony cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. Tony felt her freeze in shock for a moment before slowly starting to respond. She relaxed and melted into his embrace. He tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him to get as much bodily contact as he possibly could. He felt her hands go into his hair and he shivered in bliss. She rammed him into the counter and her hands started frantically touching his body as if she were afraid he was going to disappear right before her eyes. She moaned when Tony slipped his hands under her shirt and started raking up and down her bare back. Their lips moved in perfect sync and in his haze of love and passion, he couldn't help but think how his wildest dreams could never have lived up to the heavenly reality Ziva had presented him with.

Eventually the need to breathe became too strong and they reluctantly extracted their lips from each other and rested their heads together. "I think I am starting to fully comprehend why I have always had such trouble letting you go." She whispered breathlessly.

"Because of my amazing seduction skills, naturally." Tony teased.

Ziva laughed. "Yes, Tony. I will admit you are quite competent with your abilities to take someone's breath away." He started grinning widely and Ziva moved her head so that he could see directly into her molten eyes. "But you are the only one who has ever made me feel that perhaps I am worthy of love." She whispered quietly and gave him a soft kiss before extracting herself from his firm, but gentle grip and took his hand to lead them back to the couch.

Tony situated himself into the corner of the couch and pulled Ziva next to him who curled up impossibly close to him. He could feel the wonderful warmth that radiated from the woman who had snuggled against his body.

"Ziva, you are worthy of all the best things in the world." He said and pressed a kiss against her hair. "And I'm going try to give them to you." He felt Ziva smile against his neck. "You already have" she murmured faintly.

Tony tightened his arms around her and took the movie off pause. He mused to himself how he ever got so lucky to have this happen to him. Have _her _happen to him. Tony hadn't considered himself as a romantic and used to have a rather cynical view of it, but ever since Ziva had come along, he had realized that maybe love was everything it's cracked up to be.

He was just happy he had decided to grow a set at last and follow the lead of the fictional characters he so looked up to. But he also realized that fiction could never surpass the reality he was in right now with his dearly loved ninja.

"So what did you think of the pizza?" Tony teased. "Did it exceed your expectations?"

Ziva looked up at him. "I never knew such great pizza existed" she grinned. "I could have it every night."

Tony smirked. "Well you're paying then, sweetcheeks." and kissed her affectionately.

"I love you" she said with a sigh.

He smiled. "I know."

* * *

**Okay folks, that's it. **

**I sincerely hope it lived up to your expectations. **

**I'm currently working on a sequel and another AU story. But I don't know, would you guys want a sequel for this? It would have some more action and a bit of a more intricate plot. **

**Basically the summary for that would be this: "****Tony has the displeasure of meeting a fellow movie fanatic who has a very twisted idea of how to bond with him."**

**Would it be something you would want to read? It would be awesome if you guys could let me know.**

**Anyway, big thanks to you all who reviewed and followed! I know you hear it over and over again, but it really does make someone's day a whole lot better :) **

**Also, thanks to V (VessieD, an awesome Tiva writer) who pushed me into this in the first place. **


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